Americans, keep your sons intact

I am a mother, a daughter, a student, and a teacher. I believe in genital integrity, and I speak out on the harm that routine infant circumcision can cause. There are so many myths surrounding the natural penis, and with out proper education, these myths will keep being what we call our culture.

The 14th Amendment states, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." In case you are not aware, female genital mutilation, previously known as female circumcision, became illegal in the United States of America just 16 years ago on Sept. 30, 1996. The most common form of female cutting is removal of the clitoral hood, or the ritual nick of the clitoris.

According to the 14th Amendment, this should mean that on Sept. 30, 1996, it became illegal to perform genital cutting on females and males. The majority of the world is not circumcised, and even in California rates are only around 22 percent, but this deep culture bias needs to change. Why is it all right to do this to infant boys still? We know that this procedure is non-therapeutic, and removes the most sensitive part of the penis. We also know better now, with care of the infant's intact penis. We know that you never retract the foreskin, just clean with water, and leave it be. Instead of what was taught to many American doctors, to retract the foreskin to clean. This can cause extreme pain, and introduce bacteria, which in turn can cause infection.

The growing number of people becoming informed on the horrors of this procedure, which not long ago was thought to be better, but there are still some that need this information. The people who have never questioned it, because they don't know that there are many men working on restoring their foreskin. Or that have heard horror stories about people who kept their sons intact.

Thank you for taking the time to read about my passion. I believe that one day, boys will be protected under the law the same as girls are. I appreciate the opportunity to reach a few people who would have no idea otherwise, and I hope that I will get the opportunity to get into the community more!